Like a Modern Day Robin Hood
by KaitieD
Summary: Bruce comes home to find his place has been broken into. The burglar soon finds out there's nothing to take. But maybe he has something to give instead.


Bruce dug through his shoulder bag, searching for his keys as he trudged up the stairs to his second floor apartment. It had been a long day of classes, followed by a couple of hours working in the student affairs office, and all he wanted to do was wolf down a packet of ramen and pass out.

Reaching his apartment, his hand froze at the knob. The door was ajar and his heart started pounding as he leaned his head towards the crack, listening for any noises. Hearing only silence, he set his bag down quietly in the hallway and cautiously pushed the door open.

Flicking the lights on, he jumped, startled by the man standing in the middle of his living room. He looked to be about Bruce's height, with short, sandy hair, dressed all in black and holding a flashlight in his hand. Bruce tensed, unsure of whether to run or try to put up a fight, but before he could do either, the man spun around on him.

"W-What are you going here?" Bruce stammered, trying to sound intimidating and failing miserably.

The burglar look at him with a strange expression, almost sad. "This your place? Shit man, you've got nothing." He scanned the room again, mostly empty space with just a folding chair in front of the window and a couple milk crates holding Bruce's collection of books. The kitchen was bare except for a stack of paper plates, an empty jar he used as a glass, some plastic silverware and the box of ramen. He'd already been in the bedroom, seeing the futon mattress and threadbare blankets on the floor.

Bruce stood slack-jawed, not sure whether to be scared or offended. The guy could still be dangerous. "Uh, sorry?" he said, his brain still trying to catch up.

"I'll be back in a little while" the guy said, walking past Bruce to the door, shaking his head. "I've got something for you."

Bruce just watched as he left, listening to his footsteps descend the stairs and the door slam as he left the building. Looking around, he wasn't sure what to do with himself now. Should he call the police? The guy didn't take anything, but he did break in… Bruce examined the door and saw no damage, so he must have picked the lock.

And what did he mean about coming back? And having something for him? It could have been a threat, but he hadn't seemed very threatening…

Locking the door securely, despite seeming pretty pointless now, Bruce went over and started boiling a pot of water, figuring that he still needed to eat. When it was ready, he settled on the floor of the living room, leaning against the wall, trying to focus on the book he'd been reading. His attention kept straying however, wondering if he was going to hear a knock at the door, or maybe it would just open, the stranger letting himself in once again.

His eyes drifted over the empty room, looking at his lack of belongings. He'd spent all his money just getting into school since his scholarship didn't cover everything. He had too many classes to get a full-time job and the few hours at the student affairs office barely covered his bills. So no, he didn't have much, but he was making do and it would all pay off one day, he knew.

About an hour later, Bruce had almost convinced himself that the whole thing had been a huge mistake, mistaken identity or something, when there was a knock at the door. Startled, he dropped his book and, swearing under his breath, walked hesitantly over to the door.

"Yeah?" he asked, cracking it open just enough to peek through.

"Hey, I'm back. Open up" the guy said, holding a couple bags. Footsteps echoed behind him as three guys stomped up the stairs behind him.

"I don't think –" he tried to protest, ready to slam the door in his face.

"C'mon, I promise, we are only here to help you out." The guy smiled at him, trying to look trustworthy. "I know we didn't meet under the best circumstances" he said, shrugging a bit sheepishly, "but I think this will make up for it."

Sighing, and knowing that he could get in if he wanted anyway, Bruce opened the door, letting him walk in.

"I'm Clint, by the way" he called over his shoulder, dropping the bags on the kitchen counter. "If you could not call the police or anything, that would be great" he added with a grin. Bruce stood dumbfounded as his friends followed him in, carrying a folding table, two folding chairs, and a small tv set.

They started setting them up, flipping over one of the milk crates to put the tv on, plugging it into an outlet. The table went up in front of the window and they pushed the chairs in neatly.

"Thanks guys" Clint said, unpacking the bags he'd carried in. The other three nodded at Bruce, waved at Clint and headed out the door.

"They've got places to be" he explained, gesturing for Bruce to come over. He did, curiosity winning out over the initial shock of the unexpected guests. He watched as Clint unpacked groceries from two of the bags – some cans of soup, a bag of rice, and a couple bottles of beer. There were two boxes of Hot Pockets and a frozen pizza as well, which got tossed into the empty freezer.

"Uh, thanks?" Bruce said, still puzzled. The last bag contained some mismatched plates, cups, and silverware, which Clint put away into the cupboard. "Why are you doing this?"

"Well" Clint said, crossing his arms and leaning his back against the counter, "I know the whole…breaking in thing isn't great, but you gotta do what you gotta do, right?" Bruce just shrugged, not wanting to argue the point with him. "But shit man, when I saw this place…it was the saddest thing I'd seen in a while."

"Hey, it's not that bad" Bruce objected.

"No, it is" Clint laughed. "It's cool, we've all been there. I don't have a lot either, but I just didn't think anyone should have to live like this. So I did a quick collection from me and my friends and thought I'd help you out a little bit."

"So you didn't steal this stuff?" Bruce asked warily.

Clint laughed again. "No. C',mon, like I'm gonna steal some soup from somebody? Or that tv?" he said, jerking his thumb in the direction of the tiny screen. "But it's better than nothing, right?"

"Yeah" Bruce confessed. "Thanks."

"Sure." Clint grinned. "I think I've got a bed for you too, but that might take a couple days. Have to figure out how to get it here and all that."

"You don't have to –"

"Don't mention it. Kinda nice giving someone stuff instead of taking it. Like a modern day Robin Hood" he said, chuckling. Bruce just stared at him. "Ok, wrong audience. Nevermind. I'll just be getting out of your way then. Enjoy" he said, scooting past Bruce.

"Hang on" Bruce said, surprising himself. What was he doing? He should get this guy out as soon as he could, who knows what other kinds of trouble he was into. But he did do something nice and Bruce had to admit, he was excited to have a tv and some real dishes to eat off of.

"Yeah?" Clint stopped, raising his eyebrow at Bruce curiously.

"You want something to eat? I just happen to have a pizza in the freezer I can make" he said, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

"I could eat" Clint said, pleasantly surprised by the invitation. "How about I order us some Chinese or something though? My treat. You can hang on to the pizza for later."

"Sure, that sounds great" Bruce said, nodding. Clint got out his phone, pulling up some site and tapping in their order. Bruce got out some of the new plates, setting them on the counter.

"30 minutes" Clint said, shoving his phone back into his pocket. "What should we do until then?"

"Beer?" Bruce offered pulling two from the fridge. Clint snorted, taking it from Bruce's outstretched hand. "I think I've got a deck of cards around somewhere, if you want to play. Now that I've got a table an all…"

"Cool" Clint said, walking back into the living room and plopping himself into a seat, legs sprawling across the small space.

Bruce dug through a crate full of junk, finding the cards buried under some old school papers. Starting to shuffle, he marveled at the strange turn his day had taken. Things had been rough for him lately, but maybe they were starting to take a turn for the better.


End file.
